Sinn Féin Leader Mary Lou McDonald has challenged Taoiseach Micheál Martin’s bizarre intervention on the border poll debate. She said: “Twice in a week, the Taoiseach has shown complete disregard for the Good Friday Agreement and its provisions for a border poll. A border poll will be held. Nobody has a veto on that happening. It is the Taoiseach’s job to prepare and manage the constitutional change that is coming, and he should do his job instead of trying to rewrite history and block change.”
Ms. McDonald said:
“Twice in a week, the Taoiseach has shown complete disregard for the Good Friday Agreement in relation to Irish Unity. Firstly he falsely claimed that Sinn Féin had ‘invented’ the provision for a border poll after Brexit, when it is a core provision of the Good Friday Agreement which his government signed up to in 1998.
“Now he is attempting to cherry-pick the Agreement.
“Nobody can have a veto on progress. The constitutional duty is on the Taoiseach and a future president to champion Ireland’s future and to lead the preparation for referendums.
“We are just over two years away from the 30th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement. This is a milestone moment to shape our future. I believe that there will be referendums on unity before the end of this decade.
“Inch by inch we are getting closer and closer to Irish Unity and the only person pretending that is not the case is the person whose job it is to lead and to prepare for the constitutional change that is coming. It is beyond reckless to keep his head in the sand at such an important moment for our island.
“The commitment to holding referendums must be honoured. That is what is in the Good Friday Agreement and that is what the people voted for.”
